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Concert For George
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organisation founded by Harrison. Performers (in alphabetical order): Gary Brooker Joe Brown Sam Brown Eric Clapton Ray Cooper Tom Hanks Dhani Harrison Jools Holland Jeff Lynne Paul McCartney Monty Python Billy Preston Anoushka Shankar Ravi Shankar Ringo Starr Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers The concert opened with a traditional Sanskrit invocation, the Sarvesham chant, followed by Indian music starting with Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, playing "Your Eyes". Next, Anoushka Shankar, Dhani Harrison, and Jeff Lynne performed "The Inner Light", followed by a Ravi Shankar composition "Arpan" (Sanskrit for 'to give'), specially written for the occasion. Next, there was a comedy interlude with four of the surviving members of the Monty Python troupe (Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones along with Python contributor Neil Innes) performing "Sit on My Face". Then, Michael Palin came out as an over-the-top announcer who eventually states that he only ever wanted to be a lumberjack. He was then joined by the Pythons, Innes, Carol Cleveland, actor Tom Hanks, and The Fred Tomlinson Singers to perform "The Lumberjack Song". The remainder of the concert featured "George's Band" and included the surviving members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as musicians Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Albert Lee, Sam Brown, Gary Brooker, Joe Brown, Ray Cooper, Andy Fairweather-Low, Marc Mann, Dave Bronze, Klaus Voormann, Harrison's son Dhani, and several other musicians who had appeared on Harrison's recordings over the years. They played a selection of mostly Harrison's songs, from both Beatles and post-Beatles eras, generally staying faithful to Harrison's arrangements. Performances included Lynne on "I Want to Tell You" and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)"; Clapton on "If I Needed Someone" and "Beware of Darkness"; Petty on "I Need You" and "Taxman"; Petty, Lynne, Dhani Harrison, and Jim Keltner on "Handle With Care" as a quasi-Traveling Wilburys; Clapton and Preston on "Isn't It a Pity"; Starr on "Photograph" and "Honey Don't"; McCartney on "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass"; McCartney and Clapton on "Something" (McCartney opening with a solo ukulele accompaniment that shifts into a full band version featuring Clapton); Clapton, McCartney, and Starr reuniting on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; Preston on "My Sweet Lord"; and the group performance of "Wah-Wah". Joe Brown closed the show with a rendition of "I'll See You in My Dreams" on ukulele, one of Harrison's favourite instruments. The event was filmed and a motion picture version, directed by David Leland and photographed by Chris Menges was released on DVD on 17 November 2003. A compact disc version was also released on the same date although the Monty Python and Sam Brown tracks were not included on the CD. A Blu-ray version was released by Rhino Records on 22 March 2011. In 2018, to honour what would have been the late Beatle's 75th birthday, the concert made its debut on streaming services, and was issued on a vinyl LP set for the first time. Set list: "Sarveshaam" Traditional prayer – including a dedication by Ravi Shankar "Your Eyes" (Ravi Shankar) Anoushka Shankar: sitar; Tanmoy Bose: tabla "The Inner Light" (Harrison) Anoushka Shankar: sitar; Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: backing vocals, piano; Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai; Tanmoy Bose: tabla; Sunil Gupta: flute; M. Balanchandar: mridangam; Unidentified musicians: other instruments "Arpan" (Ravi Shankar) Anoushka Shankar: conductor; Sukanya Shankar: vocal-shloka; M. Balanchandar: mridangam; Rajendara Prasanna: shahnai; Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: mohan vina; Tanmoy Bose: tabla, dholak; Chandrasekhar, Balu Raghuraman: violins; Eric Clapton: acoustic guitar; Pedro Eustache: wind instruments; Sunil Gupta: flute; Anuradha Krishamurthi, O.S. Arun: lead vocals; Jane Lister: harp; Gaurav Mazumdar: sitar; Snehashish Mzumdar: mandolin; Ramesh Mishra: sarangi; Pirashanna Thevarajah: percussion; Kenji Ota: tanpura; Barry Phillips: cello; Emil Richards: marimba; Partho Sarathy: sarod; Hari Sivanesan, Sivaskti Sivanesan: veena; Boys and Girls Choir courtesy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; English Chamber Choir; London Metropolitan Orchestra (Andrew Brown, Roger Chase, Chris Fish, Helen Hathorn, Lynda Houghton, Ian Humphries, Zoe Martlew, Stella Page, Debbie Widdup) Michael Kamen – string conductor, string arrangement Comedy Interlude including four members of Monty Python: Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Also performing: Neil Innes, Carol Cleveland, Tom Hanks, and The Fred Tomlinson Singers. "Sit on My Face" (Eric Idle / Harry Parr Davies) "The Lumberjack Song" (Terry Jones / Michael Palin / Fred Tomlinson) "I Want to Tell You" (Harrison) Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, rhythm guitar "If I Needed Someone" (Harrison) Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) Gary Brooker: lead vocals, electric piano "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (Harrison) Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, acoustic guitar "Beware of Darkness" (Harrison) Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar "Here Comes the Sun" (Harrison) Joe Brown: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave "Rico" Niles: bass; Phil Capaldi: drums; Andy Fairweather-Low: electric guitar "That's the Way It Goes" (Harrison) Joe Brown: lead vocals, mandolin; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave "Rico" Niles: bass; Phil Capaldi: drums; Andy Fairweather-Low: slide electric guitar "Horse to the Water" (George Harrison / Dhani Harrison) Sam Brown: lead vocals; Jools Holland: piano; Jim Capaldi: drums "Taxman" (Harrison) Tom Petty: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar "I Need You" (Harrison) Tom Petty: lead vocals, 12-string acoustic rhythm guitar; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar "Handle with Care" (George Harrison / Jeff Lynne / Roy Orbison / Tom Petty / Bob Dylan) Tom Petty: lead vocals, 12-string acoustic rhythm guitar; Jeff Lynne: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Dhani Harrison: acoustic rhythm guitar; Scott Thurston: backing vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica; Mike Campbell: lead guitar; Benmont Tench: electric piano; Ron Blair: bass; Steve Ferrone: drums; Jim Keltner: drums "Isn't It a Pity" (Harrison) Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Marc Mann: slide guitar "Photograph" (George Harrison / Richard Starkey) Ringo Starr: lead vocals; Jim Horn: sax solo "Honey Don't" (Carl Perkins) Ringo Starr: lead vocals; Albert Lee: lead guitar solo; Gary Brooker: piano solo; Billy Preston: Hammond organ "For You Blue" (Harrison) Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Marc Mann: slide guitar; Gary Brooker: piano solo "Something" (Harrison) Paul McCartney: lead vocals, ukulele, acoustic rhythm guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Marc Mann: lead guitar "All Things Must Pass" (Harrison) Paul McCartney: lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: electric guitar; Klaus Voormann: bass; Marc Mann: slide guitar "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison) Eric Clapton: lead vocals, lead guitar solos; Paul McCartney: lead vocals, piano; Ringo Starr: drums; Dhani Harrison: acoustic guitar; Marc Mann: lead guitar "My Sweet Lord" (Harrison) Billy Preston: lead vocals, Hammond organ; Paul McCartney: piano; Ringo Starr: drums; Eric Clapton: 12-string acoustic guitar; Dhani Harrison: backing vocals, acoustic guitar; Marc Mann: slide guitar "Wah-Wah" (Harrison) Eric Clapton: rhythm guitar/vocals; Jeff Lynne: acoustic rhythm guitar/vocals;5 Billy Preston: backing vocals, Hammond organ; Supergroup of Guest Musicians: other instruments "I'll See You in My Dreams" (Isham Jones / Gus Kahn) Joe Brown: lead vocals, ukulele; Neil Gauntlett: acoustic guitar; Dave "Rico" Niles: bass; Phil Capaldi: drums George's Band (after interlude) and guests: Eric Clapton – electric and acoustic guitars, musical director Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Joe Brown, Albert Lee, Marc Mann, Andy Fairweather-Low, Paul McCartney, Dhani Harrison – electric and acoustic guitars Gary Brooker, Jools Holland, Chris Stainton, Billy Preston, Paul McCartney – keyboards Dave Bronze, Klaus Voormann – bass Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Jim Capaldi, Henry Spinetti – drums Ray Cooper, Emil Richards, Jim Capaldi – percussion Jim Horn – tenor saxophone Tom Scott – alto saxophone Katie Kissoon, Tessa Niles, Sam Brown – backing vocals Anoushka Shankar – sitar